roulis!
More of a history reference, after 26 years! Sorry, I should have explained better, so today I have been looking at the Aeroformation course information, the schedule (with many amendments), and my own notes annotated on them.
Capt Asseline was, I now understand, to be in charge of A320 flight training for Air France, and would have been on Aeroformation (later renamed Airbus Flight Training) A320 course #1 ("FC1"). I was one of two ordinary line captains (each of us paired with a line first-officer) on course FC2 - the first BCAL/BA course - a week behind FC1. (It is sometimes forgotten in French aviation circles that there were three launch-customer airlines for the A320, and Air Inter was the lowest in the pecking order.) The rest of my course members were training and management pilots, and two pilots from the CAA. We did not mix socially with the AF pilots, which I now regret; but we would occasionally meet them briefly at the simulator platform on handover, or at the drinks machine.
After a couple of weeks of self-tuition on the VACBI, and passing the technical exam, we started the FBS (fixed-base simulator) - originally planned to be 14 three-hour sessions - on the third Monday in January. The two FBSs were hors-service (u/s), so the first half of the series was cancelled and we started at FBS session #8, using the FFS (full-flight simulator). I cannot remember if we used one or both FFSs, but I think only one was available most of the time. It or they were unreliable - throughout our 7 FBS and 7 FFS sessions. Neither of my two instructors for the 14 FBS and FFS sessions was A320 type-rated, as far as I know. We lost 1h40 on the first two FFS sessions, and regained 0h45 on the next three; lost 0h45 on the sixth, and regained 0h10 on the seventh.
We then went home to England to wait for the A320 to be type-certificated, returning to Blagnac in March for our type-rating training. The latter consisted of one FBS session for re-familiarisation; 3 FFS sessions with instructors who were A320 TRE/IRE-rated, during which we did our instrument ratings; and one base-training sortie on the a/c for our type ratings.
Quote:
"So You were type rated by Test pilots who had to do instruction and qualification?"
Most of the TRE/IREs were Aeroformation trainers, not test pilots. There were, however, two or three test pilots who were involved in our refresher sim sessions in March. They may not have been TRE/IRE-current, but I'm not sure. They included GC, UE, and maybe NW. (Later, GC and NW were closely involved in our line training from Gatwick.) My single sortie on the a/c for base-training and type-rating was with an Aeroformation training captain, Dick Steele (who later conducted my "final" line check out of Gatwick). We reached alpha-max at an altitude of 4000 ft...
Quote:
"Asseline said he trained his 100 FT height flight on the Thomson simulator (with sealed software) used to train AF first A320 pilots. Isn't?"
That's quite possible, as he would have been able to negotiate extra sim time in his capacity as chief trainer for AF. But I cannot comment on "sealed software". What is that?
Quote:
"Which informations and simulator quality had Asseline, Bechet, the BEA, about AoA in Alpha protection and flight laws?"
I think the simulator(s) had been increased in number and reliability by the end of June. I know little about the working of sims, but all the necessary information would surely have been available from the Aerospatiale EFCS design team to create the necessary algorithms? Perhaps someone else can comment.
Last edited by Chris Scott; 8th Mar 2014 at 15:44.
Reason: Typos